Nevel Chalks up Fifth Billiards Tour Win

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Great Southern Billiard Tour

Nevel Chalks up Fifth Billiards Tour Win

Great Southern Billiard Tour / Sanford, NC
by Skip Maloney
Larry “The Truth” Nevel picked up his fifth victory on the Great Southern Billiard Tour the weekend of May 10-11, his second straight victory on the tour. The $1,500-added event drew 38 players to Speak Eazy Billiards in Sanford, NC.
Earlier in the day, Nevel and Mike Davis advanced on the winners’ side with victories over Jeff Pruitt and Ron Park, respectively. In the hot seat match that followed, Nevel took a commanding 6-1 lead over Davis, running five racks and allowing Davis only two more wins in the 9-3 victory.
Tony Morrison handled Jeff Park 9-2 before turning his attention to tournament director Shannon Daulton and a grueling quarterfinal match that was tied initially at 3-3. Daulton took the next five to reach the hill. Morrison won the next game before Daulton closed it out at 9-4.
In the semifinals, Davis jumped out to an early 5-1 lead before Daulton surged back with seven straight to reach the hill. Once again, Daulton allowed his opponent one more victory before closing out the semifinal at 9-6.
Daulton once again fell behind in the finals against Nevel before knotting the match at 4 apiece. Nevel took the next four to reach the hill, and this time, he was the one who prevailed in a “one each” final two games that completed his undefeated weekend with a 9-5 victory.
Results:
1st Larry Nevel
2nd Shannon Daulton
3rd Mike Davis
4th Tony Morrison
5th Ron Park
Jeff Pruitt
7th Mike Fuller
Nathan Pulkingham
9th Younger Chapman
Eddie Little
Jackson Jeffreys
Shawn Ray

Stallings and Holmes Get First in Goose Creek Billiard Event

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Viking Cues 9 Ball Tour

Stallings and Holmes Get First in Goose Creek Billiard Event

Viking cue 9-ball Tour / Goose Creek, SC
by Skip Maloney
John Stallings showed why he is considered one of the top league players in the area with his undefeated run on the Viking cue Open 9-ball Tour’s May 10-11 stop, while Billy Holmes took first in the amateur division. This stop was hosted by Weekend’s Pub in Goose Creek, SC.
Earlier on Sunday, Stallings sent the eventual fourth-place winner, Brian White, to the one-loss side, as well as Michael Basha and Biff Bowden, who ended up sharing fifth place, before facing Paul Durgin in the hot seat match. Stallings sent Durgin to the one-loss side with a 9-5 victory.
On the one-loss side, J.R. Rossman faced White in the quarterfinal match. Down 2-3 in the early going, Rossman rallied to win the next 7, allowing White to shoot only once in the match that put him on the hill at 8-3.
In the semifinals, Durgin put up a fight, but Rossman prevailed in a 9-5 victory. Stallings, who’d saved his best match for last, allowed Rossman only two racks to conclude his undefeated weekend.
In the amateur event, Billy Holmes had a short stay on the winners’ side, chalking up a single win before Bill Sikes sent him to the one-loss side 7-4. Sikes then went on to best Glenn Smith 7-2 in the hot seat match.
Holmes followed his defeat by besting Durgin 7-1 in the quarterfinals, advancing to face down Glenn Smith in the semifinals, whom he defeated 7-4. In the double-elimination finals against Sikes, he won both sets 7-4 to capture first place.

Open Results:
1st John Stallings
2nd J.R. Rossman
3rd Paul Durgin
4th Brian White
5th Mike Basha
Biff Bowden
Amateur Results:
1st Billy Holmes
2nd Billy Sikes
3rd Glenn Smith
4th Paul Durgin

Pagulayan Makes Incredible Comeback to Win World Pool Masters

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Pool Tour News

Pagulayan Makes Incredible Comeback to Win World Pool Masters
World Pool Masters / Las Vegas, NV
by InsidePOOL Staff
Filipino billiard player Alex Pagulayan made an incredible comeback in the final match of the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters, recovering from a 6-3 deficit to win 8-6 over Mika Immonen. This event was presented by Matchroom Sport and hosted by the Riviera Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, NV, the weekend of May 9-11.
In the first semifinal match of the evening, the all-Filipino cast of Alex Pagulayan and Francisco Bustamante traded rack for rack until the halfway point. Pagulayan won the lag and broke and ran out the first rack, while Bustamante got on the board in the next rack with a stupendous shot on the 2 ball off the rail. They traded the next six racks to knot the score at 4 apiece.
At that point, the match was all about “The Lion.” He double-kissed in the 1 ball in the ninth rack and cleared the table to take the lead, and then he came out ahead in a safety battle in the next rack to go up another game. Things started rocky for him in the following game when he fouled on an attempted push-out, but Bustamante ended up leaving a dead 2-9 billiard for Pagulayan to reach the hill. He came up dry on his break, but Bustamante tried for dramatic two-rail position to get on the 4 ball on the bottom rail and came up short and played safe behind the 5. Pagulayan tried for a two-way shot but left the 4 on the top rail, which Bustamante attempted to bank in. He almost fluked in the 6 ball but made neither. With only four balls remaining on the table, Pagulayan dished up to advance to the finals 8-4.
The second semifinal match started off ominously for Mika Immonen—when he won the lag but came up empty on his break, Ko Pin-yi attempted to play a kick safety on the 1 ball but fluked it in the side and then ran out the rest of the rack. The score seesawed to 4 each with some flawless play by both, but empty breaks stealing a bit of the thunder.
View the World Pool Masters image gallery
Things fell apart for the young Taiwanese in the second half of the match, though. A scratch by Ko in the ninth rack led to Immonen taking the lead for the first time, and then the Finn had the first break and run-out of the match to make it 6-4. He came up dry on the next break, and Ko kicked in the 1 ball but got out of line for the 3 and badly missed a safety attempt. Immonen cleared that rack and then broke and ran out the final to win 8-4.
Pagulayan evidently did not bring his A-game to the first half of the finals, for he faltered from the get-go. He took first blood after Immonen kicked out of a safety and left a shot, but from there it was the Finn who was in charge. Pagulayan drove the 2 ball into the rail in the following game, and Immonen cleared that table and then dropped the 9 on his subsequent break to go up 2-1. He then hung the 9 on his next break and played a quick 2-9 combo.
Things looked bleak for the Filipino when Immonen reached a 6-3 lead, but fortune smiled upon Pagulayan when Immonen had an illegal break. Pagulayan not only cleared that rack but broke and ran the next three to reach the hill and retake the lead for the first time in this match since the first game. He came up empty on his next break and scratched, a tough knock to fade, but with ball in hand, Immonen shot in the 1 but drew the cue ball so far back, it sank into the corner pocket. Instantly revived, Pagulayan sprang up and cleared the table, emitting a whoop when he sank the last 9 ball.
Results:
1st Alex Pagulayan $20,000
2nd Mika Immonen $10,000
3rd Francisco Bustamante $5,000
Ko Pin-Yi
5th Rodney Morris $2,500
Imran Majid
Tony Drago
Corey Deuel
9th Thomas Engert $1,500
Mark Gray
Bruno Muratore
Shane Van Boening
Ralf Souquet
Niels Feijen
Christian Reimering
Daryl Peach

Final Four Set for World Pool Masters

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Pool Tour News

Final Four Set for World Pool Masters

World Pool Masters / Las Vegas, NV
by InsidePOOL Staff
The semifinal matches are set for the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters. Only two matches remain before the winner is crowned and awarded the grand prize of $20,000. The first semifinal will feature an all-Filipino billiards cast of Francisco Bustamante and Alex Pagulayan, while the second will match up Ko Pin-yi and Mika Immonen.
In the first match of the afternoon round, Francisco Bustamante broke and ran out the first two racks against England’s Imran Majid, setting the tone for the rest of the match. Bustamante scratched on the 1 ball in the next rack, but Majid handed the game back to him by badly missing the 8 ball. Another break and run-out by Bustamante gave him a daunting 4-0 lead.
Majid played some excellent defense to put two games under his belt, but Bustamante employed the same tactic to move up 5-2. Two costly errors allowed Majid to pull within a game of his opponent, but that was where it ended for the Brit. Majid dropped the 9 ball on his next break but scratched as well, and Bustamante cleared up and then broke and ran out the next rack to reach the hill. On his last break, the 8 ball fell, and from there it was easy for “Django” to run out for an 8-4 win.
Tony “The Tornado” Drago started off strong against 18-year-old WPA Junior National champion Ko Pin-yi, breaking and running out the first two racks and winning the third with a nice bank on the 3, but Ko then got on the board in the next rack with a 2-9 combo. Ko’s confidence was shaky at first, and he and Drago traded the next two racks to make it 4-2 Drago, but Ko seemed to hit his stride when Drago missed a 1-4 combo, allowing Ko to draw within a game.
View the World Pool Masters image gallery (/gallery2/v/Pool+Tournaments/world-pool-master-2008/)
The Taiwan native broke and ran out the next two racks to take the lead for the first time in the match. He came up dry on his next break, but Drago missed the 1 ball and left Ko an easy out. A foul by Drago in response to a nicely played safety gave Ko ball in hand in the next, allowing Ko to reach the hill 7-4. It looked as though Ko would break and run out the final rack, but he got out of line for the 8 and opted to play safe. Drago and Ko exchanged innings, but Ko then left Drago a challenging, long cut on the 8. Without missing a beat, Drago pocketed the 8 but then rushed the 9 and missed it. Ko won six racks in a row to take the match 8-4.
The last quarterfinal match was a rocky one between Mika Immonen and Corey Deuel, filled with strange choices and errors. Deuel reached a 4-2 lead by virtue of two key misses by Immonen—one on the 9 ball and one on the 8—but the Finn fought back in the next two racks to make it 4-all, exhibiting superb jumping skills. Deuel scratched in the next on the 1 ball, and with ball in hand, Immonen set up for and made the 1-9 combo to take the lead for the first time.
An illegal break by Immonen gave the table to Deuel, who cleared to draw even again, but when Deuel set up and then missed the 3-9 combo in the next, the momentum swung again toward the Finn when he made the 3-9 billiard. Immonen then broke and ran out the next to reach the hill. In the final rack, he dropped the 5 ball and had a rather tough shot on the 1, which he made to clear the table and win 8-5.
Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.